ABSTRACT
Optimal periodic control involves a periodic process, which is characterized by a repetition of its state over a fixed time period. Examples from nature include the circadian rhythm of the core body temperature of mammals and the cycle of seasons. Man-made processes are run periodically by enforcing periodic control inputs such as periodic feed rate to a chemical reactor or cyclical injection of steam to heavy oil reservoirs inside the earth’s crust. The motivation is to obtain performance that would be better than that under optimal steady state conditions.
In this chapter, we first describe how to solve an optimal periodic control problem. Next, we derive the pi criterion to determine whether better periodic operation is possible in the vicinity of an optimal steady state operation.
